Orlando, FL - With close to 500,000 people advised to leave coastal and low-lying areas in Texas and Louisiana during the approach of Hurricane Lili last week, the U.S.Department of Transportation (USDOT) deployed its Evacuation Traffic Information System (ETIS) for the first time.ETIS is designed to more accurately predict specific levels and direction of evacuation traffic.The USDOT is a key agency in the Federal Response Plan for national disasters.

Developed in direct response to significant traffic logjams occurring in southeastern states with Hurricane Floyd's 1999 near-landfall, ETIS operates on a sophisticated model that combines behavioral studies, data from past occurrences, and real-time data from ongoing incidents, including weather information, evacuation percentages and tourist occupancy rates in affected areas.FEMA requested that the USDOT develop the program with recognition that more sophisticated technology would be helpful for major evacuations, especially when neighboring states are sharing major road networks.

"Deploying the ETIS technology during the approach of Hurricane Lili allowed us for the first time to gather more evacuation information in one place than had ever been possible before," said Chuck Gregg, FEMA Region 6 Hurricane Program Manager."Information is power in a crisis situation, and Hurricane Lili gave us a glimpse of the future, where information will help avoid traffic jams that endanger the progress of emergency evacuations."

The results, displayed as a series of tables and roadway-network graphics, provide emergency managers with crucial information to help with decisions regarding highway lane usage and the provision of emergency services.The ETIS program, used in conjunction with a USDOT/FEMA organized Evacuation Liaison Team, is designed to be especially useful in helping state and local managers anticipate state-to-state traffic. 

The ETIS was developed by PBS&J, a design and engineering firm with longstanding expertise in understanding the effects of hurricanes and the patterns of hurricane evacuation.PBS&J built the ETIS model using specially designed algorithms that allow data to be displayed in easily read graphics, illustrating congestion levels, for example, by altering the color and size of map lines of highways. 

"Extensive information analysis combined with user-friendly displays is critical for emergency personnel who may use the system just once or twice during the year," said Don Lewis, PBS&J Program Manager."Equally important is the coordination of the system with USDOT and FEMA officials, state and federal transportation managers, and state and local emergency managers. Lili gave us the opportunity to prove the effectiveness of both the technology and the administrative networking."

Data from Hurricane Lili's evacuation will be added to information already gathered and analysis currently being undertaken by PBS&J for an extensive study of evacuation patterns in Mississippi and Louisiana scheduled for completion before next year's hurricane season.In all, PBS&J has conducted more than 30 studies that include storm-surge mapping, clearance-time reporting, and post-storm evaluations. 

The ETIS project has been honored by the Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers with its 2001 Engineering Excellence Award and the American Society of Civil Engineers. 

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PBS&J (www.pbsj.com) is a leading provider of infrastructure planning, engineering, construction management, and program management services.Engineering News-Record ranks the employee-owned firm as 29th among the nation's top engineering consulting firms.PBS&J has more than 2,800 employees and 60 offices located throughout the U.S.and abroad. 

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Contact: 
Kathe Riley Jackson
Corporate Communications Manager
( 800) 284-5182
krjackson@pbsj.com

Mailing Address: 
PBS&J
482 S.Keller Road
Orlando, Florida 32810

Relevant link: World Photos - Reuters
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